Alpha Asher By Jane Doe

Chapter 149 – “She’s not answering me.” I tried to sigh, but it was hard to do in my current position.

Cassidy’s pouty frown and furrowed eyebrows flipped upside down as she bent forward and brought her head in between her legs. As I did the same, her expression was flipped right side up. Each of us were in the same pose, stretching our hamstrings as we mixed our own routine with the recommendations of our trainer.

A jolt of excitement danced in my stomach when she pulled the oversized t-shirt she wore over her head, and I saw the muscle that coated her body. Any decent warrior could see her commitment and perseverance through the definition of her muscles. It was clear Emilia had the strength and poise of a warrior, which made me even more excited to see her skill. I wondered if a k****r lurked behind her soft jawline and large hazel eyes.

We were both sprawled out on the floor, reaching forwards to touch our toes when Cassidy whispered, “…hey, mind-link me real quick.”

Her eyes darted to Emilia, who had her attention on the students she was helping. Her hand gestured to various parts of the body as she explained various warm-up stretches. Her ear was in our direction, but there was no telling if she was listening or not.

‘Everything alright?’ I lifted an eyebrow at her.

Cassidy’s head was a luxury walk-in closet filled to the brim with every article of clothing, and accessory a she-wolf could want. Instead of jewelry there were glittering dreams plucked from her subconscious, and razor-sharp nightmares took the place of expensive stilettos. Becoming Luna is what led to this development, but it wasn’t one wildly talked about. There wasn’t anything particularly useful about seeing the well-oiled or crumbling structure of a pack members psyche.

‘Just a bit of gossip really…’ She trailed off, and mischievousness lightened the cerulean tones in her eyes until they reminded me of a clear oasis.

‘With all the dirt you have on everyone, why hasn’t Asher made you into some kind of super spy?’ I teased, crossing an arm over my chest to stretch my triceps. The muscles groaned from not being used in so long.

‘Oh, because I’m useless at sneaking around. Even a s**t -faced Brandon would make a better spy.’ Her laughter was like a twinkling bell, which was cut short when a flash of guilt crossed her face. She brushed the wispy strands of her bangs back from her face, ‘I’m not telling you this to dredge anything up, but I feel like you still know so little about some of the people in town, people Asher and I grew up alongside.’

There were times where Cassidy reminded me of my ex-best friend Chelsea-well, she was never really a best friend, but that wasn’t important. Both were blonde, though Cassidy’s looked to be natural while Chelsea’s came from the snooty salon down the street, and both had that sun-kissed, family vacation at our beach house’ vibe.

It was their personalities that really set them apart.

Chelsea couldn’t spell sincerity, let alone successfully paint it across her face. I’d seen Cassidy display an array of emotions, and each one seemed just as true as the next. Even now, the honesty on her face was evident in the worried line her lips created and the indecision burning in her eyes.

‘Oh, just tell me. You look like you’re about to explode.’ I kept my voice playful even though she did have me curious.

Gossiping was one of the many things Chelsea and I didn’t have in common, but in this situation I figured the more information I collected, the better.

‘I do, don’t I? I’ve always been c**p at keeping things in, but I am an excellent secret keeper in case you ever need to make use of me.’ She winked, then quickly got down to business. Her eyes narrowed into little slits, and I could feel her thoughts flitting a million miles per minute. ‘So way back when, Emilia had a thing for Asher. Like, big time. I’m talking more than just ‘A & E’ in a notebook type of thing. She used to hang around us a lot, but one day she just stopped. If you want my take on things, I think he shot her down and she got upset.’

but even she wasn’t rash enough to brazenly maul a random she-wolf. I couldn’t help but turn my head and look at Emilia, at her bun of her russet-colored curls when I shifted my eyes down an inch and found her

and the sight was so genuine that I couldn’t help but return the gesture. It was the way that friendliness vanished when her eyes slid

in Emilia’s defense, who was now back to helping other students, her full attention on coaching

they’re adorable together.’ She huffed and blew a strand of hair from her face. With

the class and began speaking loudly. She did a quick run through of the muscles in the

but I was seconds away from ditching to track down Breyona since she couldn’t answer a simple mind-link. Either her thoughts were too chaotic and disorganized to focus, or something bad had happened to her. I felt uneasiness in the pits of my stomach, almost like I were missing something. Still,

asked, keeping her voice low. “I don’t mind ditching

it, I heard a familiar huff from down the hall. Cassidy gave me a funny look since I had opened my mouth to respond and quickly shut it, but it was fleeting since seconds later Breyona

her hair disheveled and her cheeks flushed she took a deep breath and said, “…so sorry,

I’ll make sure you get caught up.” Emilia nodded, her eyes understanding as she scribbled

Chris drilled every punch, kick, and hold

worse the next day, I learned I memorized things quickly when under pressure. I also learned I’d do just about anything to kick Chris’s

from the playful twinkle in her eyes, then from the persistent nudge in my gut. Any time that look crossed her face, I’d smirk and silently dare her to push harder. She didn’t take the bait, but

The second Emilia called training to an end she made a beeline for me. “I had to

blinked at her, “I’ve been trying to mind-link you up until you walked through

from another training group. My question about her date with Lars was right on the tip of my tongue, but there hadn’t been a moment where the two of us were alone. If I told her my suspicions and someone else were to hear, it could easily spell disaster. She promised to catch up in a few minutes, but I was beginning to learn how

didn’t ignore me?” She frowned, and for

head and

you didn’t answer something was up.” The fear that flashed across her face was all too familiar. When she spoke her voice was low. “You don’t think the witches were trying to k**l me again, do you? Or what

of warriors in training as they exited through the two sets of double doors. From there they fanned out

from me and this pack for a few days.” I never had a hard time telling Breyona the truth but

and I’ll be at your side through it all. Even if you weren’t my best-friend, you’re the Vampire Queen. You and Gio are essentially a package deal…which sounds a little strange now that I think about it.” She narrowed her eyes playfully, and slowly the emotion simmered into something familiar and calming. “There was something I wanted to

into her lower lip, something she did only when she was nervous. I slid from the trunk of

know it has something to do with…the shadows.” She said with furrowed eyebrows, lowering her voice dramatically towards the end. “I just don’t remember anything else…and I’d like to know every detail considering

deflate the balloon pressing against my insides, slowly suffocating me until all I could see was red. Instead

When are you leaving?”

of the severity left her face and she managed a small but genuine smile.